Chinese software piracy syndicate busted

Score one for the boys in blue. The FBI, along with China’s Public Security Bureau, have thwarted a Chinese software piracy ring allegedly responsible for over 55,000 copies of software. Included in the fake software packages were many popular Microsoft products, including Vista, Office 2007, XP, and Windows Server. The investigation, which spanned over the past couple of years, included help from both Microsoft, as well as its customers who were willing to turn in the offenders. Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft, noted, "This case should serve as a wake-up call to counterfeiters. Customers around the world are turning you in, governments and law enforcement have had enough, and private companies will act decisively to protect intellectual property."

EDIT: The total amount of software recovered is said to total around $500 million, not $2 billion as previous reported.

@Mason I did mean "totaling"…thanks. Interestingly enough, the Techtree article has changed since this was written. They were quoted as saying $2 billion. Looks like their source may have been wrong. I’ve fixed the post.